The Scoop

OK, folks. I just got off the phone with Kelly in Customer Service from Trader Joe's Corporate. Here is what I learned:

1. Nashville is not included in the 2 year plans for expansion but,

"We will be moving that way, for sure."

I couldn't get more info about time-frame, but the confirmation that they are looking our way leads me to say, "Yippee!" as well as to say, "Told you so!" to the naysayers who said Trader Joe's would NEVER come to Nashville.

2. Liquor laws have absolutely nothing to do with where they expand. I thought that was a myth, but it is nice to have confirmation.

3. The roadblock is the creation of a distribution network for the area. This includes (but is not limited to) building / buying a warehouse that TJ's operates that is within at most a day's drive of the store. They wish to keep other aspects of their distribution process private, so that is the most I could get on that front. [I have had it suggested by someone who claims ties to the CEO that an inadequate supply of local vendors is part of the problem, but Kelly seemed to dismiss that.]

4. Location Request Forms filled out at Trader Joe's website go directly to the real estate department. She said it is the best department with which to communicate about such matters (FYI: they are the folks that I alerted about the creation of the petition last week).

5. Her response to having over 1000 signatures in 9 days: "Oh, wow!"

So what's the bottom line? I say we keep doing what we are doing with the petition and perhaps also each fill out the form at the website (above). If you've already done it, don't do it again. We don't need to antagonize them, just let them know we are waiting.

It also sounds like the real estate department could also benefit from information about specific properties in parts of town where we think they should expand.

It might even make sense to provide suggested locations for warehouses (so, for example, if they wanted to put in a warehouse in the Middle Tennessee area, it could service East and West Tennesse and also states north and south of us). I don't have specific requirements like square footage, but you can always call TJ's Corporate at 626-599-3700 if you think you have a good lead.

Will any of our efforts speed things along? I don't know. But I figure, it doesn't hurt to try!